Member Organizations: American Psychiatric Association
American Psychoanalytic Association
World Psychiatric AssociationAwards: Dr. Yusim has received numerous awards and distinctions including the National Institute of Mental Health Outstanding Research Resident Award, the American Psychoanalytic Association Fellowship, the William Webb Fellowship from the Academy for PsychosomaLanguages Spoken: English,Russian,Spanish

What is anxiety anyway? Anxiety is not fear and you can distinguish between the two feelings by looking towards the source of your uneasiness. Fear is usually directed towards something concrete, the man in the dark alley following you, the shark lurking in the water or the 9:00 am meeting with your boss. The external object or situation is real and whatever you fear is within the realm of possibility.

Anxiety on the other hand, is an unspecified anxiousness. You canÂ´t identify or explain what you are worried about. Rather than an external object, the source of your anxiousness is inside you.

Anxiety can rear its head in many ways, it can be a slight uneasiness of losing control or something bad happening or it can be a full blown attack where your heart palpitates, youÂ´re are disoriented and you experience extreme terror. Many people who have panic attacks think they are having heart attacks because the feeling is so intense.

Here are some of the symptoms sufferers will experience:

Problems breathing

Rapid or irregular heartbeat

Chest pain

Sweating

Choking

Shaking

Numbness

Nausea

Disorientation

Hot flashes or chills

Fear of dying

Fear of going crazy

Feeling detached from your body

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If you experience four or more of the above symptoms in abrupt conjunction, reach a heightened level of fear or discomfort and then back away from that feeling, then youÂ´ve probably had a panic attack. They can be pretty frightening and disruptive to your life. The worst part is they can often arise without notice and totally out of the blue.

The American Psychiatric AssociationÂ´s definition of a panic attack requires a discrete or limited period of heightened fear and then a return to normal. It is possible for the attack to be so overwhelming that you cannot effectively communicate what is happening to you.

The suddenness and unexpectedness with which panic can come on often lead to even greater anxiety about panic attacks. Situational anxiety is fear that arises in response to a specific situation. WeÂ´ve all experienced it..... Possible examples of situational anxiety may include confronting your spouse, going to the dentist, driving and public speaking.

Situational anxiety usually quickly departs once the anxiety producing event has passed. For some, this type of anxiety actually helps to improve their performance because they prepare more, practice harder etc. However, for many, these feelings can be upsetting and scary. Once you take these fears and transform them into avoidance of the situations you fear that is when your fear has crossed over into a phobia.

Situational anxiety can lead to an anxiety disorder but it doesnÂ´t have to and it is not the same as a panic attack. The attack is much more intense and will actually prevent any kind of performance or action you were going to perform. It is much more physically frightening and much more emotionally debilitating to the point where avoidance seems the only solution.

ItÂ´s important to remember that some anxiety is both normal and reasonable in many situations. As we live our lives we face challenges, potential failure and loss. All of these experiences can produce anxiety which is perfectly normal and expected.

About the Author:

Download your free eBook "Stop Panic Attacks and Deal with Your Anxious Thoughts" here: FREE REPORT STOP PANIC ATTACKS- From Bertil Hjert - The author of the PanicGoodbye-program. Read more about this brand new course at the: Panic Goodbye Program

A panic attack is almost like a violent experience. You may feel disconnected from reality. In between attacks, there is dread and anxiety that it's going to happen again. The reason why education in important is to assist you and your family in understanding what is happening and to recognise the onset of a panic attack.